In the four decades since returning to the family farm, Sheila Case-Smith can’t remember a warmer May.

On May 2, temperatures reached 87 degrees at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, setting a new record on the base for the month of May.

“It was like having August in May,” Case-Smith said of the experience.

Temperatures have settled down some since, but for the second spring in a row, the growing season on Whidbey is off to a warm and dry start.

For Case-Smith, who enjoys growing dozens of tomato varieties on her Oak Harbor farm, this is especially appealing.

When the Oak Harbor Farmers Market opens Thursday for its 23rd season, Case-Smith will be bringing armfuls of tomato plants.

She started about 80 different varieties from seed this year and expects to bring about 60 different varieties to the market, which will run from 4-7 p.m. each Thursday through the end of September.

She normally only plants about 30 varieties in the ground at her farm, focusing more on bringing plants to the market for others to experience.

“It’s been my goal to get more people to grow a little bit of their own food so they get to appreciate some of the difficulties,” Case-Smith said.

Despite the unseasonably warm spring, the amount of produce available Thursday still won’t be the volume that will come in future weeks.

Visitors can expect to see an assortment of greens, rhubarb, artichokes, cabbage, turnips and other produce. The sunny days will bring strawberries to the market early for the second straight year, but not until at least next week, said Peg Tennant, the manager of the Coupeville and Oak Harbor markets.

“It’s supposed to be a short berry season, all but the blueberries,” Tennant said.

“It’s going to happen hard and fast.”

Food vendors will be on hand for the opening market and quite a few new vendors will be coming this year, Tennant said.

The early warmth has caused flowering trees and shrubs to bloom much earlier than usual.

“A lot of things are a month early,” Case-Smith said. “A month is not normal. A few weeks early is more normal.”

Oak Harbor Farmers Market

The Oak Harbor Farmers Market begins its 23rd season from 4-7 p.m. Thursday in the field next to the Chamber of Commerce on State Highway 20. The market will feature produce from local farmers and food vendors. Expect to see limited produce the first week with greens, turnips, cabbage and rhubarb available. There also will be a large variety of tomato plants. Strawberries might still be at least a week away. The market runs every Thursday through Sept. 29. Check for updates on the Oak Harbor Farmers Market Facebook page.